1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to the attachment and removal of a heat sink to a semiconductor device. More particularly, this invention relates to a tool for attaching and removing a cam lever operated heat sink spring clip.
2. Background
The current path density in present day monolithic semiconductor devices, such as a microprocessor, result in a relatively large amount of heat being generated over a very small geometry. Consequently, heat sinks are attached to a large surface area of the device to conduct heat away from the device. Due to the differing coefficient of thermal expansion, the heat sinks are not typically glued or otherwise permanently attached to the device. Instead, the heat sinks are clipped or otherwise held in contact with the large surface area.
Several different clip configurations have been invented to accomplish the attachment between the heat sink and the electronic device. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,581,442, 5,448,449, 5,381,305, 5,208,731 and 5,304,735 are typical of these kinds of devices. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,735 to Earl et al., teaches a C-shaped heat sink clip for attaching a specially configured heat sink to a grid array electronic device, here a pin grid array (PGA) device. In addition, this patent teaches two specialized tools for installation and removal of the clips. Both of the installation and removal tools generally resemble a pair of pliers, with the installation tool being a crimping style tool and the removal tool being a spreading pliers type tool.
In general, clip manufacturers have endeavored to design clips which can be installed and removed without specialized tools, which facilitates removal and replacement of heat sinks in the field by service technicians. However, oftentimes the design of the these type of clips do not facilitate installation or removal of the clips in a mass production environment. In this type of environment, it is oftentimes much more desirable to have a specialized tool to speed up the production process.